Kenshin Uchiha
Kenshin Uchiha (Uchiha Kenshin) is a Chūnin from Konohagakure, known to his fellow villagers as the Bloody Baron ( ) for his notorious temper and violent tendencies. Despite being written off by most around him or going unnoticed due to the blinding achievements of his family, Kenshin is in fact a very powerful shinobi — being named Jōnin at 16, then briefly becoming one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja at the age of 17 and also surviving numerous engagements with S-rank enemies throughout his teens. Out of frustration (and resentment even) towards the attitudes developed against him (mainly due to his lack of control) from his own comrades, Kenshin embarked on his own journey away from Konoha in the final years of his adolescence. Forced to work on his own without the shelter of his village and exposed to the numerous injustices faced by those without his accustomed privilege, Kenshin began to develop a more altruistic side which ironically led to him following his father's footsteps as an anonymous do-gooder whose interests were devoted to protecting the vulnerable. It was around this time that Kenshin helped with the founding of a new settlement; which he would also help protect. Kenshin would deliberately continue to stay away from his family and village of birth throughout his life, still harbouring feelings of dissatisfaction though he never disavowed his allegiance to Konoha. This nomadic lifestyle of his put a certain strain on his relationship with his tightly knit family, many of whom still struggled to understand Kenshin's decision to leave them. Simultaneously Kenshin's own triumphs in numerous tournaments held throughout the shinobi world began to reveal just how powerful he actually was as his victories earned him the title of Warhorse ( ). Background Childhood Kenshin was born as the second child out of six to Densetsu Uchiha and Hitomi Sarutobi around three years after the end of the Fourth Shinobi War, a period of peace. As such he was never exposed to the harsh circumstances his parents were, instead learning in a healthy environment about the traditional ways of the ninja. Kenshin's early childhood was well balanced and enjoyable, as his family was a healthy and progressive one, catering to his needs and showering him with affection: however all this began to change as his siblings began to access their Uchiha Clan signature Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan. His relationship with his siblings had been loving and playful in those blissful early days, arguments with his sister, play fights with his younger siblings and a deep admiration for his older brother Juro. His father was another source of inspiration for him — leading to Kenshin wanting to become just as powerful and famous as him, despite not seeing Densetsu very often due to his work with the Shinobi Union. This gap was filled by his mother Hitomi, who taught Kenshin the importance of justice and doing right by others; something as she drilled the point into Kenshin that these virtues were what she, Densetsu and their friends had all fought for. But when Kenshin's Sharingan never manifested, the blissful days came to a slow and sad end. While his biological siblings Juro, Hanako, Teishi and Namazu all awakened their exalted eyes and excelled in their ninja education; each gaining particular renown in Genjutsu, Kenjutsu, general Ninjutsu and Taijutsu respectively. Despite Kenshin never being a poor student, he was always kept in the shadow of his siblings' exploits, particularly those of Juro. These shortcomings were masked for awhile when Kenshin bonded with his adopted brother who also did not have the Sharingan, but this relationship also began to stagnate when Danzetsu was discovered to have the unique abilities needed to harness the powerful Flying Thunder God Technique. As such towards the middle of his childhood, Kenshin began to develop an inferiority complex: and his habit of internalising his insecurities led to him becoming slowly more hostile towards those who began comparing him to his brother. Eventually his classmates began to notice Kenshin's negative reactions when comparisons to his siblings were brought up: attempting to harass him with it as a form of crude escape from their own boredom. This eventually backfired, as the enraged Kenshin assaulted one of his harassers one day, violently smashing a table onto his classmate's stomach. Konoha Christens The Bloody Baron When Densetsu confronted the boy about this, Kenshin's own frustrations and mood swings led to an intense exchange between father and son. Densetsu's own stresses with work and his son's behaviour made matters worse as the bond between father and son took some damage that day. While they would reconcile and Densetsu attempted to talk Kenshin out of his obsession with the Sharingan, things did not change for the better. He began to grow even more distant from his family members and reclusive, even avoiding Juro as much as he could. Eventually Kenshin would grow out of his bitterness regarding the Sharingan; pouring his might and effort into his studies to hopefully surpass his older brother and silence the rumours of his supposed inferiority to his siblings. He became very proficient with Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, combining his speed and strength to form a very aggressive and unrelenting style of combat. But as hard as he tried, any disagreement with others that escalated enough would frequently lead to the topic of his inferiority complex — as it was common knowledge now that this irked Kenshin to the extreme. As such, fights became more common with Kenshin gaining a knack for settling things with his fists, in shallow attempts to show off his own ability. To avoid trouble however, he kept this slugfests outside the Academy compounds — earning his infamous moniker The Bloody Baron, to the injuries he both sustained and inflicted in these numerous fistfights, much to the displeasure of his parents and the disgust of his siblings; who were steadily emerging as top students in their respective batches, while despite his efforts Kenshin managed to remain only in the top ten or so. While again his parents attempted to build a bridge for Kenshin to calm down by stating his academic achievements were praiseworthy, Kenshin's own competitive spirit and combative nature saw these efforts as insulting his potential. Eventually he was promoted to Chūnin without much trouble: impressing judges in an unbeaten run — though again misfortune struck in the form of young boy's ego, as past Chūnin Exams highlights flashed on the big screen in their stadium. Kenshin noted the crowd's roars for the past Chūnin Exam performances; with his father and mother's (both in attendance in the crowd) performances over twelve years earlier getting louder cheers than his own final performance. The worst insult for Kenshin was the roar the audience gave his brother when Juro's highlights reel flashed as part of Juro's Team Six and Team Iroka's infamous battle in the previous year. This stung Kenshin harshly since he knew his brother had been promoted to Chūnin because of his innate abilities, not because of what he demonstrated in the exams. Regardless, Kenshin knew his siblings wished the best for him, despite him not having the same eyes as them. As each congratulated Kenshin and lauded his performance in the Chūnin Exams, the boy began to feel pride and solace, feelings he had not felt since he was a young child and none of them had yet activated their Sharingan. It was all this honesty and kindness they kept showing him that began to make Kenshin feel guilt towards how he treated them over the recent years; especially when he reacted to them chastising him over his violent behaviour. However he could not put aside his feelings of envy and feeling out of place, especially when the villagers rubbed in his more violent tendencies compared to the more heroic and praiseworthy attitudes of his family — he understood some of their insinuations that his antics were tolerated solely due to his family's beloved status in the village. Kenshin's Path These complicated feelings persisted and even intensified over the next few years, but Kenshin made a conscious effort to reduce the emotional distance he was placing between his family and him. Try as he did however, he could not shake the notorious label of the Bloody Baron from his shoulders — as the fights and easily lost temper continued to plague him. The Uchiha siblings however all went through their own emotional and physical turmoil over those same years, all in their teens. Despite everyone communicating again and the gaps in their abilities having reduced, Kenshin still felt out of place, though now he felt his problem was with the entire village. He thus made the decision to go through his own journey away from the village when he received his promotion to Jōnin. Kenshin hesitated to share his wishes with his family, particularly with Densetsu, Juro, Hanako and Namazu who all had been going through an intense few years. But he steeled himself still, for it was a decision he knew he had to make, in order to truly discover himself and finally find a place he would fit in, instead of feeling like an outcast, or a troublemaker. At the age of 16, Kenshin took his Jōnin Exams. Despite his faults and flaws, his abilities were well respected. The Chūnin had distinguished himself as a very able combatant: sharp of mind and quick to find weaknesses. His strength and durability were well regarded, as was his reputation for never abandoning his squadmates; willing to die and kill for his nakama. Despite his reputation in the village for being an empty headed ruffian, the higher ups in Konohagakure knew that the Will of Fire burned strongly and brightly in his heart — and that Kenshin Uchiha was as much an asset to the Leaf as any of his illustrious family members. And so the Bloody Baron of Konoha received his promotion to Jōnin; never really knowing at this time that many in the village actually valued him as much as many who disregarded him. When the family gathered to celebrate the newest Jōnin in its ranks, Kenshin decided to break news of his plans to them. While the family immediately protested the decision led of course by his mother, their dissent was quickly silenced by the voice of Kenshin's father. The family finished the rest of the dinner in silence. Densetsu and Kenshin took a walk after that, leaving the rest of the family to ruminate on Kenshin's revelation at home. As they walked under the starry skies of Konoha in the quiet night, Densetsu expressed pride in his son's abilities and as a person on his own. The veteran shinobi could understand his son's longing to set himself into the world; a journey he too had been forced to take in his own teens. Kenshin revealed the problems that plagued his past: his feelings of never being able to live up to the family's expectations all the way to the way the village treated him and seemed to regard him with scorn. But Densetsu told him to disregard every other voice and follow the voice in his own head; stating that what others said would never change the fact that Kenshin was his son. And that despite them not agreeing to this, the family would come around; and that like Densetsu, all of them stood behind Kenshin no matter what. These words drew tears out of the tough Kenshin, as father and son spent the remainder of the next thirty minutes or so marvelling at Konoha's mighty Hokage Monument, under the magnificent skies, uttering no words but knowing that each would always have the other's back, to the death. Kenshin bade his family a final farewell the next day, but promised his older brother Juro one thing: that he'd be every bit as strong as him when he returned, if not much stronger. With that, he set off past the safety of Konoha's gates and into the real world, beginning what he knew would be an incredible adventure. And while leaving Konoha seemed to leave an emptiness in his soul, the overwhelming sense of freedom made Kenshin feel as though he had been given a blank slate to restart his entire life. Twelve Guardian Ninja Foundations of a Village Personality Appearance Abilities Trivia